This invention relates to detectors for computerized tomography, and more particularly, to a high pressure, high resolution xenon x-ray detector array.
At present, there is considerable interest in determining the utility of industrial computerized tomography for such applications as inspection of jet engine turbine buckets, nuclear fuel rods, cracks in welds in nuclear power plants, and other industrial inspection functions. Generally, these applications require higher resolution and higher energy x-rays than do medical applications.
A xenon x-ray detector array for medical computerized tomography is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,031,396, issued June 21, 1977 to Whetten et al., and assigned to the instant assignee. The xenon pressure employed in this patent is stated to be 10 to 50 atmospheres. An x-ray detector array is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,047,041, issued Sept. 6, 1977 to Houston and assigned to the instant assignee. This detector employs a detector gas pressure of between 10 and 100 atmospheres and two anode sheets parallel to each other and to the plane of the x-ray fan beam. A plane of rod-like cathode elements or strips of electrically-conductive material disposed on a sheet of dielectric material is placed parallel to the anode sheets and midway between them. Present medical x-ray detectors employ relatively large cell spacing and, consequently, yield relatively low spacial resolution. Further increasing the spacial resolution would require an increase in the x-ray dose to the patient which may be beyond the tolerable level for the patient.